New York Times Best Seller List

In June, one science fiction book and two fantasy books made it to the New York Times best seller list (adult fiction, hardcover):

THE WATER KNIFE, by Paolo Bacigalupi (Knopf) (science fiction)

The author of The Windup Girl delivers a near-future thriller that casts new light on how we live today—and what may be in store for us tomorrow. This book made a brief appearance in 15th position on the NYT best seller list.

B&N Bookseller’s Picks for June 2015

In this installment of The Night and Nothing series, Finn Sullivan discovers that her town, Fair Hollow, borders a dangerous otherworld.

A comment, if I may. I had a bit of fun listing the adjectives and other qualifiers used in the blurb for this book: “dark, moody, mystical, bewitching, intriguing, dangerous, painful, bohemian, terrifying, placid, picture-perfect, eerie, supernatural, wealthy, beautiful, terrifying (again!), striking, mysterious, powerful, brave, malevolent, diabolical, comfortable, magical, shocking, lush, gorgeously written, star-crossed, bestselling.” Whoever wrote this blurb should be nominated for the Purple Prose Award.

Book blurbs are becoming little more than a collection of clichés loaded with empty qualifiers (well, the same can often be said about the books themselves). That makes me sad, unhappy, depressed, downcast, miserable, downhearted, despondent, despairing, disconsolate, dispirited, wretched, broody, glum, gloomy, doleful, dismal, blue, melancholic, low-spirited, woeful, woebegone, forlorn, unsatisfied, and so on.

In this anthology, S. M. Stirling invites more than a dozen other writers to join him in expanding his rich Emberverse canvas. The Emberverse is a long-running series of novels set in a post-apocalyptic world where technology failed and magic re-emerged.

The Darkling Child: The Defenders of Shannara, by Terry Brooks (Del Rey)

A stand-alone novel set in the legendary Shannara universe by the NYT bestselling author Terry Brooks.

New York Times Best Seller List

In April three fantasy books made it to the New York Times best seller list (adult fiction, hardcover):

The Shadows by J.R. Ward (New American Library). Book 13 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

The Skull Throne (The Demon Cycle) by Peter V. Brett (Del Rey). The saga of humans winnowed to the brink of extinction by night-stalking demons.

Beauty’s Kingdom by A. N. Roquelaure (Penguin). Anne Rice, writing as A. N. Roquelaure, returns to the kingdom of Queen Eleanor in this new chapter of her Sleeping Beauty series.

Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for April

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (Saga Press). Ken Liu has won a Nebula, two Hugos, and a World Fantasy Award. Now he gives us what his fervent legion of fans has requested: a new fantasy series to savor at length.

A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall (Orbit). Five villains. One legendary general. A final quest for vengeance.

The Rebirths of Tao (Tao Series Book Three) by Wesley Chu (Watkins Media). Five years have passed since the events in The Deaths of Tao. The world is split into pro-Prophus and pro-Genjix factions, and is poised on the edge of a devastating new World War. A Gengix scientist who defects to the other side holds the key to preventing bloodshed on an almost unimaginable scale.

The Silence by Tim Lebbon (Titan). A terror-filled story of one family and their friends, as they struggle to survive in a world overrun by ravenous creatures that hunt purely by sound…

Dark Heir (Jane Yellowrock Series 9) by Faith Hunter (Penguin). Shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock is the best in the business when it comes to slaying vampires. But her latest fanged foe may be above her pay grade…

The Unremembered (The Vault of Heaven Book One, Special edition) by Peter Orullian (Tom Doherty Associates). In anticipation of the second volume in Orullian’s epic series, Tor are choosing to relaunch a title with an author’s definitive edition. In addition to updates to the original text, they are also including an exclusive short story set in the world of Vault of Heaven as well as a sneak preview of the sequel, Trial of Intentions, and a glossary to the universe.

Jinn and Juice by Nicole Peeler (Orbit). Meet Lyla: Jinn, belly dancer, and the hottest new urban fantasy heroine in town. To escape an arranged marriage, a jinni granted Lyla her wish: to live a thousand years as a jinni herself.

Each month I will be analyzing science fiction and fantasy best seller and “best books of the month” lists.

New York Times Best Seller List

In March three fantasy books made it to the New York Times best seller list (adult fiction, hardcover):

THE BURIED GIANT by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf). In a semi-historical ancient Britain, an elderly couple set out in search of their son. From the author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day.

TRIGGER WARNING by Neil Gaiman (Morrow/HarperCollins). Stories and poems about the power of imagination.

DEAD HEAT by Patricia Briggs (Ace). Charles and Anna, married werewolves, must stop a dangerous Fae whom they encounter during what begins as a pleasure trip; Book 4 of the Alpha and Omega series.

Amazon.com, Best Books of the Month: Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Shadows: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward (NAL). Bloody war rages across the Forgotten Realms world in the third book of the Companions Codex, the latest series in R.A. Salvatore’s New York Times best-selling saga of dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden.

The Skull Throne (The Demon Cycle) by Peter V. Brett (Del Rey). The saga of humans winnowed to the brink of extinction by night-stalking demons.

A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday). A collection of short fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day.

Prudence (The Custard Protocol) by Gail Carriger (Orbit). Introducing the Custard Protocol series, in which Alexia Maccon’s daughter Prudence travels to India on behalf of Queen, country… and the perfect pot of tea.

Clash of Eagles (The Clash of Eagles Trilogy) by Alan Smale (Del Rey). This work of alternate history imagines a world in which the Roman Empire has not fallen and the North American continent has just been discovered.

Old Venus (Bantam). Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.

Note: this is a selection, not the complete list.

B&N Best-Sellers in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Vision In Silver (Anne Bishop’s Others Series #3) by Anne Bishop (Penguin). The New York Times bestselling author of The Black Jewels Trilogy transports readers to a world of magic and political unrest – where the only chance at peace requires a deadly price.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab (Tom Doherty Associates). Kell is one of the last Travelers-magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes, connected by one magical city.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW). In this book, Patrick Rothfuss brings us into the world of one of The Kingkiller Chronicle’s most enigmatic characters. Full of secrets and mysteries, this is the story of a broken girl trying to live in a broken world.

Golden Son (Red Rising Series #2) by Pierce Brown (Random House). By the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising. Golden Son continues the saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom.

Madness in Solidar (Imager Portfolio Series #9) by L. E. Modesitt Jr. (Tom Doherty Associates). The ninth book in the Imager series.

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie (Random House). New York Times bestselling author of Half a King, Red Country and the First Law trilogy: The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last Argument of Kings.

About the Author

Geek, science fiction fan, novelist, and essayist, A. J. is passionate about all things nerdy. He has a PhD in neuroscience and cell biology, alongside a degree in literature, and he is a member of the Society of Authors. The mysteries of the human mind, astronomy, and quantum physics have captivated his imagination since childhood. A fan of Ridley Scott, he likes his science fiction with a dark edge.